Never Judge a Book by it's cover
by Mehuh
Summary: More mature rating comes later, right now, it's Everyone or Teen. Story Summary Hermione is done dealing with those annoying Slytherins. That Blaise Zambini and Draco Malfoy. But is it all as it seems? HGDM, HGBZ, HGDMBZ possibly
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: No, I do not own the Harry Potter Series. I am not that creative. I am not that clever, I am just merely borrowing JK Rowlings characters.

A/N: I know that Blaise Zabini is black, but for my choice, I decided to have him Italian. . Enjoy.

She can't stand him! Him or that git who call themselves the 'Princes of Slytherin.' Well, they don't call themselves that by that title. Just everyone else . . . But that doesn't matter! What matters is her fury toward those two! How they walk around as if everyone will bow and step out of their way! They have ruined two months of research and work! All that, and she was blamed for ruining three books. BOOKS for Christ's sakes! She wouldn't do that. Especially if she needed them!

No. Those two couldn't move out of the way when she, clearly, couldn't see in front of her. She had many books and papers piled high. And what do they do? Bump into her, and knock over a first year, who just happen to be holding a potion that was made incorrectly, not only scorching three of the books, but cause a hole in the middle of the hallway, causing a huge pileup! And what do they do? _Smirk. _That _smirk _that made half of the girls stop and sigh. Then they have the gall to tell her to "Watch where her dirty feet lead her," so she "won't cause such a huge mess next time!"

As Head Girl, she had to stay calm and not yell at them in front of all the other students. But as soon as that Blaise Zabini steps though that door, boy is he going to get it!

How was he made Head Boy? That's something she'll never understand. Heck, before this year, she had never noticed the smooth talking Italian. She knew that he was in her year, in Slytherin, and sometimes seen around Malfoy and that group. Who would have known that he really was up for position of Head Boy? It all came as a surprise when it was announced. But who was she to question Dumbledore's choice? That Blaise Zabini sure was a mysterious -

Speaking of the devil, he just walked through the door. Right on time. She was about to open her mouth when he gave her _that _smile. "Granger," he said with a nod.

She froze.

"You may want to close your mouth. Unless you were planning to put it to use . . . " he responded, raising an eyebrow. She closed her mouth and clenched her fists. His voice, she'll never get used to it. So smooth, charming . . . until he says things like _that, _then the spell that was cast over her shuts off.

"You git!" she finally managed. He just smirked again as he plopped into a chair. "Don't you ignore me! I'm fed up with you and Malfoy. You're abusing the power you were given."

Blaise looked into her eyes, and her tongue froze again. _Darn it! How does he do that? _"I have never, as you say, 'abused' my power Granger."

So calm. So collected. Hermione was beginning to understand why he has so many admirers. God . . . that accent. That was enough to make any girl weak in the knees. "I actually came to see if you had finished cleaning."

'_I'm not sure if I should take that as an insult or a nice offer to help.' _She thought. She just turned her head and started to leave the room. She wasn't going to get anything done this way. As she closed the door, she heard a soft chuckle that made her grit her teeth.

As soon as she entered her room in the Gryffindor tower, she sat on her bed. What was she going to do? She had to figure out a-a . . . plan! Sort herself out. First, she has to redo her report. After she figured out what to do about those books. She really needed them . . . and they were hard to get! And thanks to those no-good Slytherins, she was stuck.

Those devious, stuck-up, no-good charmers! Those foul mouth, beautiful, bloody gits!

Wait!

Charming? Did she really just say charming? And-and . . . beautiful?

Hermione shook her head. The words smooth, handsome and graceful also came to mind.

There must have been something in that potion. It must have spilt on her. Something must have gone terribly awry. Her hand went to her forehead to check her temperature. What is in that potion? She needed to go find out.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series, I just used a few characters for my own plot and delight. smiles

A/N: I do apologize for taking so long to put the second chapter up. I'm not very good with updating. I have so many ideas, but it's just so hard to actually put them down. But I do hope you enjoy this.

And, I have recently been pointed to the fact that I'm an idiot! I typed 'Zambini' insted of Zabini, and I do apologise...

Chapter Two

Where to start? She first thought about the Potions classroom, but Snape might not be much help. She could just hear Snape saying "Miss Granger, I am unable to keep track of all the potions done incorrectly." Then he'd go blaming so-and-so house while giving good examples of Slytherins. She did not need to hear that crap this time of day (or any day as a matter of fact).

The hallway! Of course! She could start there!

She quickly left her room, still dressed in her uniform. She made sure her wand was with her. "Where are you going Granger?" a voice asked her from beside one of the armor.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Hermione asked, sounding annoyed.

"I was just wondering where you were off to in such a hurry." he replied, giving a smirk and raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing that concerns you or your 'mudblood' remarks. I was hoping that I'd be able to do this in silence without your useless noise that you seem to think is important."

"And what, pray tell, is this useless noise you're talking about?" he asked with his arms crossed.

"Your voice." she calmly stated as she turned to walk away from him. She gave a little smile when Malfoy didn't produce a response. She assumed that he was speechless or so angry he didn't want to retaliate. What she didn't see was his smirk and his eyes watching her back as she walked away.

Two arms encircled Draco's shoulders as he watched her disappear into the distance. "That was... going according to plan." Blaise stated as he rested he shin on Draco's shoulders, he smile hidden behind his arms.

"Yes." Draco drawled before turning his head to look at the beautifully sculpted Italian. "Your turn."

"I think I'll wait awhile. She just dealt with me... she'll be thinking about me for a while, making it better if I waited while she enjoys the close distance we shared earlier."

Draco gave a slight chuckle. "You sound pretty sure of yourself."

Blaise kissed Draco's cheek. "I have reason to," he replied as he pulled away.

Draco reached up to wipe his cheek. "You know Blaise, if you keep this up, and I didn't know you better, I'd think you were gay."

Blaise smirked. "Good thing you know me then."

Draco just shook his head as he left.

Hermione stood in shock. Who would have believed it. They wasted no time cleaning up! She groaned. Now how was she supposed to figure out what was in that potion?

She took another look around. She stomped her foot in frustration. Even the freaking huge hole was gone! "What am I to do now?" she groaned.

"Need help Granger?"

Hermione quickly spun around to see Blaise chuckling. "What are you doing here Zabini?"

"I came to see if you need help with anything." he stated normally, as if he often followed her to offer help.

She held her head proudly. "No thank you Zabini. I'm perfectly capable of handling this on my own."

"And what are you doing?" he asked.

Hermione quickly thought up a story. "I'm looking to see if I can find a sample of the potion to see if I can help figure out how to repair the books that were damaged."

Blaise raised an eyebrow, as if questioning her.

"I need those books for research." she answered. That was a believable answer, she thought. She had a moment of weakness, but she quickly covered it up. She just prayed that Blaise didn't notice it.

"Is that truly the reason why you're here?" he asked, making sound as if it weren't a question at all.

Hermione cleared her throat and crossed her arms, her weight resting on her right leg. "Yes," she stated, as if it were obvious. "I just need to find a sample of that first year's potion-"

"Then why start here." Blaise interrupted.

"Because , seeing as Snape will probably be of no help to me, the scene of the accident is the best choice." she replied, reminding herself to calm down and not raise her voice. Fighting with the Head Boy will get her nowhere, so she will not start it.

Blaise nodded his head, as if he saying she had a point. He started to walk where she just had been searching while she wished that he would just leave. He then slowly turned around giving a hint of a smirk. "What if," he started, as he got closer to her, making Hermione take a step back, "I asked Snape for a sample. Being of his house, it won't be as hard."

"And why would you help me Mr. Zabini?" Hermione asked, waiting to hear what his demands would be.

He smiled.

"What if I need those books as well Ms. Granger? You aren't the only one working and studying in this school. Though you like to think so, others are trying to learn as well. We just can't get the books we need because you've been hogging them."

Hermione blushed lightly. "V-very well. Well put." she muttered. She raised her right hand to her temple and was trying to see if Blaise had any other motives, but couldn't see or think of any. "Fine." she replied as she let out a quick breath. "If that is truly the reason, then, well, will you - please- ask Snape?"

"Nice to see you so articulate Granger." Blaise replied. Hermione just rolled her eyes and turned her head as she recrossed her arms. Blaise gave a farewell nod as he turned toward Snape's classroom. "By the way Granger, standing there like that shows how nicely shaped your legs are." Blaise called over his shoulder, then continued on his way.

Hermione snapped into a straight position. She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it thinking better of it, and just clenched her fists.

As Blaise disappeared down the stairs, she realized that he never said when and where he'd give her the sample, or even if he'd give it to her. She only asked him to 'ask Snape about it.' She started to quickly pace back and forth, and finally made up her mind.

She went to follow Blaise down into the dungeons.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter characters, just this little plot bunny.

A/N: I do apologize that the chapters are so short. But it makes sure that I'll post them faster. But, later on, I am planning on combing a few chapters so they're longer... But, till then, here's chapter three!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hermione tried to be quiet and hid behind any pillars if she thought someone was coming. She wasn't sure why she was hiding, but she continued to follow Blaise.

He walked so smoothly, like — there is no way to even start describing how he walked. 'Such good posture,' Hermione noticed. Such confidence, yet, unlike Draco, he doesn't scream cocky. His eyes stood out the most when she looked at him. His olive skin and his dark chocolate hair was eye candy but his sky blue eyes stood out most in a crowd. His appearance was mostly because of his Italian heritage on his mother's side, but his eyes belonged to his English father; something all the girls will happily thank the father for. That's how he seduces most of the girls of Hogwarts. Just one glance and—

Whoa! Hermione stopped mid-step. Was she just checking out Zabini? No, no way. She could not – she would not! She felt her forehead once again. Sick, she musts be sick. She has to find the cure for the potion before this gets any worse. Before long, she may even to start liking Blaise...

She shuddered.

Then she realized that Blaise had entered Snape's classroom. She went near the crack of the door to listen to the conversation. "Mister Zabini, pleasure to see you, but may I ask what you're doing here outside of class?" Snape coldly asked as soon as he spotted Blaise. Hermione peaked through the crack.

Blaise bowed. "Good day House Master," he started. Snape just lightly cocked his head as one of his eyebrow rose. Blaise took this as permission to continue. "I came as a request of someone to find out about the potion that caused the huge mess this afternoon."

Snape gave a nod, showing he understood. "May I ask who doesn't have the bravery to ask for this information themselves?" he asked as his cloak bellowed around him as he sat down.

Blaise just smirked as he stayed silent.

"I see," was Snape's reply. "In that case, first let me inform you that it was not the potion that caused the disaster. That first year was just delivering that potion to one of the teachers for me. Seems to be a problem with a tough patch in the forest, so I thought I'd lend that so-called mistake to help fix it." He was grading but stopped when he noticed that Blaise was just standing there waiting so he continued the story. "Turns out that a third year Hufflepuff was reading the wrong directions in their book and made a different potion than required. But, I must say, for a Hufflepuff, he didn't do it badly, for once. Not wanting to waste it, I sent it to Hagrid. Unfortunately, Miss Granger had her nose buried by books again to notice where she was going."

Balise chuckled at his and Snape gave a smirk of approval. Hermione resisted saying anything, then Snape suddenly looked in her direction. She covered her mouth when she realized she had made a noise.

"Come in Miss Granger." Snape said, sounding bored.

She nervously stepped into the now opened door way. "S-sorry Professor, but I had heard that Blaise had come down here and-" she then paused seeing that Blaise was watching her, his arm crossed leaning against Snape's desk. She swallowed as she came up with an excuse. "A-and I wanted to remind him that we have a meeting later."

Blaise gave a nod, smirking.

"Message received. You may go now." Snape replied.

Hermione quickly nodded and turned to leave the room.

"By the way Miss Granger, the potion is on page three hundred forty-seven." Snape said as he returned to grading scrolls. Hermione blushed as she realized that he knew she was the one who wanted to know. She quickly left with Blaise chuckling.

"Well, thank you Professor." Blaise replied as he watched Hermione's retreating back leave the doorway.

Snape just looked up for a moment, then waved his hand in a dismissing motion then returned to grading.

Hermione was so embarrassed. Not only had she been caught eavesdropping, but she had been caught using Blaise as a messenger! But that wasn't her biggest problem. Her problem was that she now knew which potion had spilt that afternoon. And it was not responsible for her actions- her thoughts- earlier. She had read all of her schoolbooks at least once, and she remembered the potion on page three hundred forty-seven. There was no way that it had even touched her. If it had, there would have been a huge hole at the contact point. And seeing as she's still wearing the same uniform, she knew that there were no holes; therefore, it hadn't touched her. Just the books.

So why was she having these thoughts. Yes, she knew that Draco and Balise have grown to be quite handsome, but she never noticed it before. At least not the way she has been recently.

Had she?

Ack! These thoughts are starting to corrupt and confuse her already!

She then told herself not to panic.

"Don't panic? What for Granger?" Hermione turned around, gave a little squeak, then covered her eyes. Draco just looked at her with confusion and laughter in his eyes. "Does my–"

"Malfoy," Hermione calmly interrupted, when she knew it was really him, and not just a figure of her imagination, "what are you doing?"

"I should be asking you that." he replied leaning his shoulder against the wall.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Draco motioned to something behind her, and she followed to where he had looked. Oh, she's right in front of–

"The Slytherin Common Room. Do you have to see someone?" Draco asked, a laugh playing around his smirk. "You scared of going near our common room? That's why you're telling yourself not to panic?" Draco was clearly making fun of her, and she had to make up yet another excuse. Doesn't this make three for today only? New record, if she remembered correctly.

"I thought I heard noises over here. Slytherins are constantly know for snogging in the hallways. I just wanted to catch someone-"

"Ah, you like watching-"

"To give them DETENTION!" Hermione snapped.

Draco's smirk/smile grew. "I do believe I have found Miss Goodie-two-shoes secret."

"You have not!"

"But you do have a secret?" Draco straightened, becoming very interested in his new discovery.

Hermione blushed, then started to walk away.

"I'll find out what it is Granger." He calmly stated, then muttered something as he went to enter the Slytherin Common Room.

What is it with Slytherins pushing all the wrong buttons with her today? Hermione covered her mouth praying he wouldn't find out about what she had been thinking about him and Blaise...

How could this be...

How had she grown, well... crushes on the two most arrogant, stuck-up people in the school? They aren't even nice to her in the slightest of ways...

How could she have grown attracted to Blaise Zabini and Draco Malfoy?


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: No, I do not own the greatness that is Harry Potter. I'm just messing with it's universe.

A/N: Yes, I do tend to be a bit cliche at times, and I do apologise. Oh, and thanks to all the reviews. Next chapter, I shall address them all personally. But right now... .on to the story!

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No. No. She doesn't fancy them. She's been telling herself this all night as she tossed and turned in her bed. It was almost as if they were haunting her. They kept appearing when she closed her eyes. Their stance, their smirks, their eyes... she shuddered. No, she doesn't fancy them. But she has come to a different conclusion.

She's physically attracted to them.

Also known as lust. Pure lust.

She shuddered again. This made her feel-feel... dirty. But she couldn't help it. They were gorgeous... too bad that their personalities mess it all up. But then, there are some girls who find their arrogance attractive– but not her. Of course not. She has to deal with it everyday.

Every. Single. Day.

Doesn't it seem odd that they have to taunt her everyday? Sometimes it seems as if they were going out of their way to find her...

That's a ridiculous thought! She's just looking for a sign that they may find her attractive... Hoped that they find her attractive...

She gave a frustrated groan as she tossed off her sheets. She usually isn't like this! Why is she even thinking of those twats anyway? She'll get over this phase... eventually. Until then, she must try not to think of them.

She sighed as she realized the time. She's going to wake up in two hours. Which means everyone else is waking up in three. She decided that she should just get dressed in her uniform, that way she doesn't have to change twice in one morning– there's no way she'd walk around the castle in only her pajamas.

She checked her appearance in the mirror then she went to look for her bag before going to 'the other door'– the door that led from the meeting room to her room and visa versa. The door itself can't be seen unless the 'looker' knows where it is. The Head Boy has one of these doors also, but she never watched him enter or leave so she doesn't know where in the meeting room it's located. Besides, not like she wants to get into the Head Boy's room. She only uses this door to get to the meeting room early to prepare for the discussions and any complaints the prefects may have. Then, she leaves the same way everyone else does.

As the whole castle sleeps, she wasn't sure where to go. She has a few things she wants to read, but recently she has been... easily distracted in her room— where the thoughts of 'them' plagued her the most— and if she goes to the common room, there's a chance she may be interrupted.

The meeting room seemed perfect.

She had grabbed a quill, one piece of parchment and two books and placed them into her bag earlier. She doesn't this bag often, but she wanted to be able to have a quick escape if needed.

A little dark hallway greeted her as she closed the door behind her. "Lumos." Candlesticks lit her way. She smiled at the fact that they never melted and stashed the thought of researching it for the spell later as she reached the other door. She turned the knob slowly and checked to make sure that she was alone. The room seemed empty so she entered. She placed her bag on the table as she took a deep breath. There's something about this room that comforts her. She lighted enough lights to let her read, but kept the rest of the room dark. She didn't want anyone checking to see why the lights were on.

She got out one of the books and sat down. She smiled as she placed it in front of her, ready to embrace the story that was about to unfold in front of her when she heard a chuckle.

She gasped as she slammed the book shut. "Who's there?" she asked aloud.

The figure brightened lit the rest of the lights, and the first thing Hermione noticed was his sly grin.

"Zabini?"

Unlike Hermione, Blaise had chosen to stay in his pajamas. A comfortable shirt that showed off his body, yet covered him at the same time, while staying cool with short sleeves. His sweat pants were a rich green and was loose and baggy: the ultimate comfortable yet sexy look Hermione had ever seen. She gulped.

"You okay Granger?" he asked taking in that she was in uniform. "Do you sleep in that thing too?"

"No." she quickly answered. "I-I-"

"Just felt like randomly coming here?"

"I couldn't sleep." she confessed.

Blaise smirked. "And why couldn't you sleep?"

"None of your business." she snapped. She was beginning to worry, for he was getting closer to her and she didn't notice herself backing up until she felt the wall behind her.

"You seem to be... stressed." and he stopped moving, studying her reaction.

"I'm not stressed. You just gave me a freight." she responded calmly. "What do you expect? It's early morning– even I'm not usually awake this early– and it was dark. I thought no one else was here. I didn't even hear your door-"

"Because I was here before you." he politely interrupted.

"What?" she asked surprised.

"I saw you come in. Which means-"

"You know where my door is." she finished.

He nodded his head, crossed his arms, and leaned against the table. "Doesn't that worry you?"

"No, why should it?"

"Well," he started, with a malicious smirk, "I can now sneak into your room whenever I want."

"Why would you do that?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh... OH!" he eyes kept glancing at her door and she suddenly found Blaise in front of her, his arms on both sides of her head, his hands and elbows against the wall. He was close to her– really close. She could feel his delicious breath upon her face.

"Hmm..."

"What?" Hermione asked, trying to keep calm and figure out a way to escape.

"I think you may like this." he replied, that god-forsaken smirk still on his face.

"And what if I don't?" she saw her opportunity.

"Of course you do-" he answered. But was interrupted when she quickly got out of his arms and ran towards her door. She tossed it open and ran in the hallway. She realized that he could chase after her. She quickly shut the door, and cast the only locking spell she could think of. She could hear Blaise laughing and she slowly walked away from the door, her back facing towards her room.

"Don't fight it." he called and she turned around and ran.

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Draco nudged Blaise, motioning towards Hermione, his eyebrow raised. "Mudblood looks like she's about to pass out in her food." he whispered. Blaise let out a chuckle as he looked over to where the Head Girl was sitting. Sitting next to her energized friend - that female Weasley - she looked just about dead. "Wonder why she's tired." Draco remarked. Blaise's sly grin grew as Draco took notice. They looked at each other, their smirks now identical.

"She mentioned not being able to sleep last night." Blaise whispered. Draco chuckled.

Hermione was stirring her cold chocolate (about an hour ago, it would have been called hot chocolate) when she sensed it. Her head snapped up and she looked over at the Slytherin table. And there they were. Smirking - is that the only thing they know how to do?- and talking together, the others around them taking this as a sign to not interrupt. She was fed up with them! They were the source of her problems. She glared at them as Blaise made eye contact. He gave an innocent shurg as if stating that they were doing nothing wrong. Hermione scowled.

"What's wrong Hermione?" Harry asked, bringing her back from her plans of different ways to hex those foul-

"'Ah 'ermione." Ron replied. Then he swallowed whatever he was eating. "Your face is beginning to resemble Crookshankes." He stuffed more food into his face. "Trust me," little spickets flew from his mouth, and seeing that, he swallowed, "that's not a good thing.

Hermione's glare was redirected to Ron. "Sorry I'm not appealing to your eyes, but-"

Harry put his hand on her shoulder while giving Ron a look telling him to stop before he makes it worse. "All he ment is that you look like you're upset about something-"

"Well put." Ron responded, thinking about it.

"-And we were wondering if there was anything we could do to help." Harry finished, regaining Hermione's attention.

Hermione gave a slight smile. She could always depend on Harry to try to figure out that she was upset. He was always trying to figure out what's going on while Ron------ well, is Ron. But it was his way to show that he cares too, she guessed. But this is something she has to figure out and deal by herself.

"Thank you Harry. I just–" she noticed Draco and Blaise were closer together, deep in conversation. They glanced at her a few times... They were talking about her!

"That's it." She muttered. She stood up as she put her hands on the table as she noticed Ron's surprise and Harry's confusion. "I just have to figure out... something." she replied after taking a few calming breaths.

She tried to keep her composure while walking to the Slytherin table, ignoring the calls and rude remarks made from Draco's and Blaise's housemates. She stood behind them, waiting for them to notice her. "You know, eavesdropping is considered rude." Draco calmly stated while looking at Blaise.

"I need to talk to you two." was Hermione's reply.

"Us?" Balise asked, being the first of the two to look at her. He was trying to act innocent again and she held back the want of yelling at him or hitting him.

"Yes." she replied through gritted teeth.

"What for?" Draco asked, sounding bored.

"Reasons. I don't want to talk about it here. Just come." She turned on her heel and left the Great Hall.

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She had been waiting for five minutes. She started to tap her foot, crossing her arms in impatience. The doors finally opened and the two 'boys' walked to her. "About time," she muttered, looking up at them. "You took long enough."

"We just finished our drinks." Blaise replied.

"What was so important that you had to drag us away from our breakfast. Usually, I don't dirty myself, but you made it seem important." Draco drawled. "Besides, Pansy was-"

"I want to know what you're up to." Hermione interrupted.

"What do you mean Cara?" Blaise asked as Draco leaned against a nearby wall.

"I ment what I said. You are doing - or planning- something, and I want to know what." she replied.

"Granger, you always seem to be angry." One of them replied, but she wasn't sure who. She just felt the heat rising to her face.

"Ugh!" Hermione stomped her foot. "Whatever you two are up to, I've had enough." she turned around and walked away. Fuming.

"You summoned us out here, and you're going to be the one stomping away?" Draco asked, laughter in his voice.

She didn't reply.

"Has something happened that I don't know about?" Draco asked Blaise as soon as Hermione was out of hearing.

"I didn't tell you about our 'meeting' this morning?" Blaise responded, laughing at the spot Hermione just was.

"You were about to, but the subject was standing behind us."

"Ah, yes. I must explain... I think we have it easier than we originally believed."

"Do explain."

"I think she's already attracted to us, which makes what we want to do easier." Blaise now faced Draco. "It makes her within reach."

Draco just shrugged and was about to head back to the Great Hall when Blaise suddenly said "And now I know where her door is." Draco stopped in his tracks, and turned around to face Blaise again and he was smirking.

"Oh, this does make things interesting."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own the magical world that equals the greatness of Harry Potter.

**A/N: I want to thank Oro4, Jevanminx, PirateFanatic and Weaselbee for reviewing! **

**Oro4: Sorry the chapters aren't longer. ^^; I take so much time writing, then rewriting what I have, and make it sound better, that I realize how long I took and feel bad, then update. *laughs* Yeah...... The chapters are getting longer... so they'll be of more length before long.....**

**Jevanminx: Yes... I do love that pairing.... I wish more people wrote this pairing.... Yep. *laughs***

**PirateFanatic: Thank you! That's quite a compliment! And I do hope I got this up before you went crazy! *wink* And seeing as it took me a long time... how much do I owe? I'm sorry.... ;P**

**Weaselbee: Glad you find it interesting! I tend to be slow at updating, so I hope that this is soon.**

**And now, to the story!**

_I wrote that forever ago. And I am sorry. There have been more reviews since, and I am thankful for all of them. I like getting reviews and hearing from you all!_

_I do apologize for not updating for such a long time! I had let life get in the way too much, and I was distracted. But now that things are better, BACK TO WRITING!_

_And from now on, I am going to try to keep updated more, and reply to all reviews from here on out! XD_

_Thank you for not giving up on me._

_Thank you for waiting._

_And for those who recently added me to their alert list, thank you for taking the time to read it, even though I haven't updated this in forever!_

_And to warn, this is probably going to be short, but at least I'm writing again. *laughs*_

_Now to the story! For reals this time!_

Hermione felt accomplished and frustrated at the same time. She went through with talking to those two, but she might have made the situation worse—and she could just kick herself for that! She skipped the rest of breakfast for her stomach was now in knots of worry, excitement, and embarrasement. And she hasn't even thought of an excuse to tell Harry. Ron would probably believe practically anything, but Harry was the hard one– he actually pays attention and she knew he'd ask why she had gone over to the Slytherin table to talk to Malfoy and Zabini. Well, she could say it was just Head Buisness and Draco just tagged along.... no, there are too many possible flaws in that. For one reason: if it was offical Head Buisness, she would have MADE Malfoy leave like she does with Harry and Ron. There goes that excuse.

She pondered other reasons. Reasons Harry may believe, so that crossed out every reason that came into her head that moment. Can't talk about homework... because she wouldn't talk to Blaise and Draco about _that._ She definately wouldn't ask for their opinions... but-

What if she said she was talking to them about the books they've ruined! Yes! That may

be believable! Wait, really? Was she really going to say that's believable? She may be obsessed with books at time, but so much that she'd stomp over to the Slytherin table in a huff, and talk to them later outside in the hall? Unlikely. If it was about the books, she would have just asked them then and there.

What if... what if she was going to talk to them about prefect business? That she had to talk to them first to make sure they weren't going to act like Slytherins and let her do business. That might work. She did pull Blaise aside that morning for the first meeting on the train. That would work. She wasn't sure what she'd say the plan was about, but only that she was working on it.

That sounds a lot better. Hermione smiled. She hasn't lost it after all. Harry would believe that. And if she can't think of a plan for the meeting that might require her to give a slight lecture to the Slytherins, she could just say that she changed her mind and scrapped the idea. That would work out wonderfully! She felt a lot lighter as she walked into her common room to get ready for the next classes. Harry and Ron should be coming up soon to get their last minute items. Hermione had left everything here this morning so she didn't have to deal with it. She was too tired earlier to even be dreaming of lifting her heavy bookbag. But after that wonderful excuse, she felt much more awake.

She started to double check all of her items. She was taking the highest of all classes of course, which ment that teachers were much stricter about turning homework and all students having their supplies ready. Okay, let's see, History of Magic essay, here (oh dear, it's still a parchment too long, hopefully Binns won't mind too much), Herbology notes (Neville had actually proven quite useful for this. He gave extra information that not even Sprout had covered! It won't be on any of the tests, but it was good information to know!), Care of Magical Creatures book (Hagrid had been getting better about classes. And she needed to know about all types of creatures for her future job) and—wait. Where was the last part of her Potions homework? She could have sworn it was with her this morning when she went down to the meeting room to work... unless... no. She didn't leave it in that room when she ran from Blaise, did she? No. No.

Hermione started to worry. She didn't want to even think about what happened this morning, not when she was so happy. About how close Blaise had been to her, breathing on her, his arms practically wrapped around her–STOP! No! This won't do!

She took a deep breath and tried to sort her thoughts.

In her room! I might be that it fell out when she was rushing around this morning to meet everyone for breakfast. After the fiasco, she had hid in her bed, trying to convince herself that Blaise was just being an arse and teasing her. Like he always does.

She walked up took a deep breath as she opened the door to her room. Everything looked the same. She let out a sigh as she saw the stray paper lying upon her bed. 'See Hermione?' she told herself. 'Worrying over nothing you are.'

She picked it up when another slip of paper gently floated to her sheets. She froze as she noticed that it was not her handwriting on that paper.

Her hand shook as she picked it up to read it.

This did not bode well with her stomach.

_Hello Granger, _the note started.

_After leaving our little discussion in the hurry this morning, I noticed that you had left this behind. If it's what I think it is, you might want to make sure you have. Don't want to embarrass yourself in front of Professor Snape again do you?_

_You might want to come back later as well. I do believe one of your lovely quills was left down here as well, and you don't want to lose something that writes so smoothly._

_Sincerely,_

_Head Boy_

_Blaise Zabini_

_PS: I hope you don't mind that I used your door Granger. It would have been more hassle to hand that to you in the Great Hall during breakfast. That would not have been good for your reputation._

Hermione stared at the note.

He had been in there. He had been in her room. This morning. Probably when she was in the common room to meet Harry, Ron and Ginny.

He officially knew where her door was. And she did not place a good locking spell on it this morning. He could practically come in any time he wants if she didn't figure out a strong locking spell.

Oh god.

Hermione ran out of her room and down the steps. No, no no no NO! This cannot be happening. How did she slip up?

Wait. Why was she so worried that he'd come into her room? It wasn't like he would do anything. Yeah, he might pull a few pranks, but they wouldn't be that bad. They are much more mature than that. It shouldn't be too bad. And maybe he'll only use it to return her items, or leave her notes when he couldn't reach her otherwise. He might just be responsible-

Who is she kidding. This is Blaise Zabini. Draco Malfoy's best friend. One of the most arrogant boys in school. He'd probably use it to the best of his ability. Or for blackmail. Or just let Malfoy know about it so they can hex her in her sleep. There is no telling what they might do.

No. She is not going to let this get to her. Of course not.

She's just going to be spending some time sleeping with all the other girls in the Girl's Dormitory for a little while.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Draco looked over to see Blaise smirking into his potions book. "First off, I have to ask, why are you reading right now? We have class in a moment, can't you just wait til then to learn?" Draco drawled.

"I like reading. It was either that or Defense Against the Dark Arts, since I am too lazy to get a real book from my room."

"Then answer me this... what are you all happy about?"

Blaise looked up and saw that Draco had his eyebrow raised, all attention on him. "I left.. A surprise for our lovely Miss Granger this morning, and I am thinking about what her reaction will be."

Draco grinned. "This is going to be good."

Blaise nodded in agreement. "It is. You remember about the meeting in the morning, correct?" Draco nodded. "Well, do you remember what I told you about the special Head Girl and Head Boy's doors?"

"I knew this would prove useful." Draco couldn't help but laugh. "Granger better be careful."

Blaise smiled. "There is no way that she's ready for us."


End file.
